JERUSALEM - 2 May 2008 - 420 words
Mother's Day in Jericho
Caritas Jerusalem celebrated Mother's
Day with members of our Ramallah Elderly Day Care Centre on an
outing to Jericho recently.
We took members from our elderly day care centre in Ramallah to
Jericho for the day. The Ramallah Elderly Day Care Centre has
been reaching out to the elderly in the Ramallah region since
1990. Each year, a key part of our program involves celebrating
special days with outings to help our elderly citizens enjoy the
day in a relaxed environment. The event was made possible by the
support of Caritas Alicante from Spain.
This year we celebrated Mother's Day with 30 members of our elderly
Centre, five of the Centre staff and six youth volunteers from
the Ramallah region village of Jifna. This group of youth volunteers
is one of 11 groups of some 140 young people who participate in
Caritas Jerusalem's Youth Volunteers program. These youth volunteer
give their time to undertake community betterment actions on a
voluntary basis. These young people joined this excursion to make
the time for the elderly more enjoyable and to help out.
Special days like this help give needed chances for lonely elderly
citizens to share a time of togetherness and joy in the Holy Land
where the news always seems to be so sad.
The trip began with a bus ride from Ramallah to Jericho starting
at 8.30am. During the trip, everyone sang songs and read poems.
All in attendance looked forward to a carefree day of fun and
enjoyment in Jericho.
Upon arriving in Jericho, the group was
welcomed at the Latin Convent. Fr Hijazin, the Parish Priest of
Jericho, greeted the elderly, the volunteers and the members of
the Caritas Jerusalem team and informed the community of the presence
of these special guests. He also gave a special blessing to the
elderly who were present. Following Mass, all of the elderly and
those present from the local community were invited to coffee
by Fr Hijazin. Then, the group proceeded to the Banana Garden.
It has shops, a green grass picnic and barbecue area and a swimming
pool for kids. At the Banana Garden, the elderly joined with the
youth volunteers playing games and listening to music. One of
the young people brought a drum to play and the group listened
to Oud music and danced together. A favorite game played by the
elderly is backgammon, which in Arabic is called sheshbesh Nothing
like a good game of backgammon to generate an appetite.
After some recreation, it was time for
lunch, which was made up of traditional Palestinian barbecue meat,
kifta kebab, lamb and chicken with fresh salad and humus added
as well. Everyone pitched into prepare the barbecue and cook.
This day is one of many that we at Caritas Jerusalem undertake
to help our elderly citizens remember that in the midst of very
hard circumstances that many face, we are here to do our best
to help them remember that they are loved and not forgotten.
For more information about how you can be involved in the work
of our Social Service Department, please contact us: Caritas Jerusalem
Communications Dept. POBox 20894 - Jerusalem Ph: 972 2 628
7574 x. 103 communication@caritasjr.org
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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